


Iambic Pentameter

by lost_in_mirkwood



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, English Assignments, F/M, If you consider the 90's modern, Some underage drinking, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27984231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_in_mirkwood/pseuds/lost_in_mirkwood
Summary: New guy Podrick Payne really wants to date Sansa Stark. When he learns that the only way he can is if someone also dates her terrifying younger sister he hatches a plan to set Arya up with Gendry Waters, King's Landing Prep's other rebel, who just may win her over.A Gendrya 10 Things I Hate About You AU.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 28
Kudos: 49





	1. She's Out of My League

“ _Meeting with Ms. Smallwood, Guidance Counselor, 7:30am._ ” the Welcome Letter had read. Podrick was used to meeting with Guidance Counselors by now. King’s Landing Prep was just one in a succession of schools he’d attended over the years as his father moved the family around for his job. He’d promised Podrick that this would be the last, not that it mattered as it was the start of spring semester of his senior year and he’d be done with school in May. At least he could stay in King’s Landing after he’d graduated if his father did move them all again.

The impressively tall secretary, Miss Tarth, had smiled at him when he arrived, directing him to the chair he currently occupied as he sat quietly in the front office waiting for Ms. Smallwood to see him. He could hear muffled voices before the door swung open. Being shooed out was a very large, very surly looking student who was saying, “It was a joke with Mrs. Heddle in the cafeteria,” followed by a small woman draped in a colorful shawl, who must be Ms. Smallwood, replying, “A bratwurst? Aren’t we the optimist. Don’t let it happen again Mr. Waters. Now, _scoot_!” 

The teenager glanced at Pod as he made his way out of the office. Pod immediately looked away, not wanting to be noticed. Under the radar was the best place for him to be, Pod felt. Ms. Smallwood looked at Pod and gave him a vague wave into her office before returning to her desk. Pod scrambled to follow as she made a few clacks of her keyboard, “Your fourth school in three years, military brat?” she asked.

“Not quite, my father is,” but he never got to finish as Ms. Smallwood made a few more clicks.

“Uh-huh. Well you’ll find King’s Landing Prep to be the same as any other. High school is the same from Dorne to the Wall. Same little shits, different locations,” the printer clattered behind her and her chair rattled as she turned to take the pages. “Schedule, map, locker information, parking pass, we’ve assigned someone to guide you to your first class. First bell is at 8:15, don’t be late. I don’t want to see you in here again. Now, _scoot_!” 

Pod managed to not drop the papers as Ms. Smallwood shuffled him out the door. It closed behind him with a snap and Pod found himself back in the main office wondering what had just happened. Miss Tarth gave him another smile and pointed to a young man sitting near the front door, clearly waiting for him. 

“Howard Pie, but my friends call me Hot Pie, I’m supposed to show you around” the boy said, jumping up and shoving a hand out. Pod juggled the papers and his school bag enough to shake it, unsure if this meant he was to call the boy Hot Pie or Howard. 

Hot Pie led him out into the main courtyard, talking as he went, “So the courtyard at KLP is the best place to get the lay of the land. You have the art preps,” he gestured at a group of people in dark clothes with thin scarves and little hats, not a paint splotch to be seen, “by the coffee cart are the coffee snobs, if they’re behind you in line just let them cut. Also the pastries are subpar but I can make you some recommendations if you’d like,” three boys began to shout at each other as one stumbled and splashed some of what was apparently Braavosi dark roast on the ground, “the stoners, the jocks, the band geeks, the theater kids” each group was distinct as Hot Pie kept talking, “and finally you have,”

Whatever Hot Pie was about to say next was lost on Pod as a tall redheaded girl stepped into their path, talking with a slightly smaller brunette next to her. She was wearing a sundress in the golden King’s Landing morning and her pale pink purse matched her backpack as the girls walked ahead of them.

“Who is that?” Pod whispered, awestruck.

“That is Sansa Stark, she’s also a senior but don’t even think about-” but again Hot Pie was interrupted.

“I burn, I pine, I perish!” Pod had never seen a girl so beautiful. The sunlight was shining on her hair as it swept down her back.

“Of course,” Hot Pie muttered, “You know she’s beautiful, and deep.”

The boys could just hear a snippet of the conversation between the two girls as Sansa said to her friend, “But you know, there’s a difference between like and love. Like, I like my Sketchers, but I love my Sand Snakes backpack.”

The other girl looked confused, “But I love my Sketchers?”

Sansa giggled and shook her head, her hair shimmering in the light, “Jeyne, that’s because you don’t have a Sand Snakes backpack!”

The other girl giggled too, “Oh, I see now!”

Hot Pie pulled Pod to a stop as the girls continued on, “Listen, let me fill you in on a little King’s Landing Prep info. Forget her, her father is the King’s Hand and it’s widely known that the Stark Sisters aren’t allowed to date.”

Pod nodded, still staring after Sansa, “Yeah. Got it.”

Hot Pie sighed. The new kids always learned soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2: She's Got The Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet Arya and Gendry and Pod begins to plan how to talk to Sansa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Says she'd post on Wednesdays, immediately doesn't follow through. To be fair, I was at work for 12 hours yesterday and by the time I got home my thought process went "food, shower, bed".
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Arya glared down at her notebook, blank except for the pen doodles in the margins. She would love her final period Literature class if only Mr. Dondarrion would let them read something written by someone other than old, dead, white men. Who decided that Steffon Fossoway had more literary value than Nymeria Ny Sar? Nymeria was a Rhoynish rebel during the Valyrian uprisings and her writings reflected the plight of her people as they fled across the Sunset Sea to Dorne. Fossoway just wanted to relive his “glory days” of war through stilted sentence structure and pretentious metaphors about sunlight. This wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she’d petitioned Mr. Dondarrion to allow her to take the senior level class as a junior.

She would also love this class even more if there was a seating arrangement that didn’t have Joffrey Baratheon sitting directly behind her. He kept knocking his foot against her chair leg and she was going to lose it on the little snot-nosed southern princeling if he didn’t knock it off soon. She didn’t care that their fathers were best friends, that his grandfather was on the Small Council, and his mother was THE King’s Landing socialite, he was a prick. One who seemed to know just how to push her buttons. If she could keep a lid on her frustration that would be a small victory for her.

Arya tuned back in to the lecture just as one of her classmates was lavishing praise on Fossoway, “His prose is so romantic,” Marella Rosby was gushing.

Arya scoffed audibly, “Romantic? Fossoway? He was a misogynistic alcoholic who spent most of his life trying to shag Aerion Targaryen’s leftovers.”

From behind her Joffrey cut in, “As opposed to a bitter, self-righteous twit who has no friends?”

Arya rolled her eyes. She could see Mr. Dondarrion sigh when she carried on as though she hadn’t heard Joffrey, “I guess in our society being a male and an asshole makes you worthy of our time, _Baratheon_ ,” she could hear his snicker. “What about Argella Durrandon, or Elissa Farman, or Nymeria Ny Sar? Why can’t we read something from-” 

The classroom door swung open, cutting her off. The half of the class that wasn’t already facing Arya, and unintentionally the door, to watch her soapbox turned as one to see who was there. Standing in the doorway was Gendry Waters, his unruly black hair falling over his high forehead into his bright blue eyes, scruff decorating his sharp jawline, and the other reason Arya couldn’t enjoy her Literature class. When he even bothered to show up to class he always sat brooding in the back corner smelling faintly of cigarette smoke. He never participated in discussions, she never saw him turn in work, and when it was time for partnered essay editing she always seemed to get stuck with him. He’d flip through the first few pages of her draft before sliding it back to her with a wink and nary a word or a pen mark before slipping out of the classroom as soon as Mr. Dondarrion’s back was turned. It was infuriating.

“What did I miss?” His school bag was hanging haphazardly over his shoulder as he leaned against the door frame, everyone’s attention now firmly on him.

Arya rolled her eyes, and turned back towards the front of the classroom, “Just the oppressive, patriarchal values that dictate our education.”

“Cool,” with a crash the door swung shut behind him as her annoyance returned to whatever it was he did when he wasn’t sitting in Junior Literature, ignoring her essays and winking those blue eyes at her. 

Mr. Dondarrion sighed again, his head in his hands. “Miss Stark, thank you for sharing your opinion on Steffon Fossoway and our curriculum. You’re dismissed.”

Arya’s jaw dropped, she hadn’t done anything today to warrant this, “But, Mr. Dondarrion!”

“Dismissed, Miss Stark.”

With a huff, Arya slapped her notebook closed and stood. She made sure to clip Joffrey’s shoulder with her elbow as she stepped past him, fuming, into the hall. 

\---

Miss Tarth raised a pale eyebrow as Arya swept into the Main Office. “Mr. Dondarrion, again?” she asked, knowingly. Arya nodded before pointing at Ms. Smallwood’s open door with a cocked eyebrow of her own. Miss Tarth sighed and gestured for Arya to enter the guidance counselor’s office. Ms. Smallwood was typing away at her computer talking under her breath as Arya stood in the doorway. Suddenly her head shot up and she shouted, “Brienne! What’s another word for ‘engorged’?”

Arya turned back to look at the secretary. Miss Tarth was staring at the ceiling with a long suffering expression and a slight blush before she replied, “I’ll look it up.”

Arya stepped all the way into the counselor’s office, closing the door behind her, “Turgid?”

Ms. Smallwood cocked her head to the side and thought for a moment. “Perfect!” she chirped before making a few keystrokes and waving Arya into the plain wooden chair in front of her desk. “So, I hear you were terrorizing Mr. Dondarrion’s Literature class again.”

Arya frowned as she sat, “Expressing my opinion is not a terrorist action.”

Ms. Smallwood looked up from her computer and adjusted her spectacles, “The way you expressed your opinion to Elmar Frey? By the way, his testicle retrieval operation went well, if you’re interested.”

Arya faked a concerned smile, “Good for him. I still maintain that he kicked himself in the balls.”

Ms. Smallwood sighed, “The point is Arya, people find you a bit…”

“Tempestuous?” Arya supplied.

“Bitch from the Seventh Hell is the term used most often. You might want to work on that.” With that the older woman gave a firm nod and turned back to her computer screen.

Arya stared at Ms. Smallwood for a moment before standing to leave, obviously dismissed, “As always, thank you for your excellent guidance. I’ll let you get back to Aegon’s quivering member.”

The door swung shut behind her and Arya heard Ms. Smallwood mumble, “‘Quivering member’, I like that. I’m going to use that,” as the frantic typing resumed.

\---

The day finally ended and Pod found himself back in the main courtyard with Hot Pie again. Hot Pie was going on about some hostile take-over in the KLP Baking Club that had his croissants branded “store-bought” much to his offense and dismay. Pod nodded along vaguely as he scanned the courtyard for shining copper hair, straightening slightly when Sansa Stark finally made her appearance. He wasn’t the only one who noticed her arrival though, sprawled on a low wall near them was a small group of guys ringed around a smug-looking blond who was clearly their leader. One of the boys nudged the blond as Sansa approached with the same friend from that morning. Both Sansa and the blond made eye contact as the girls walked by, Sansa smiling shyly and tossing her hair as they went. Just as they passed the blond called out, “Looking good ladies.”

Both girls glanced back briefly as he gave them an appreciative once over before they continued on through the courtyard, giggling as they made their way towards the parking lot. Pod felt nearly invisible as Sansa and her friend passed by him and Hot Pie without so much as a glance in their direction. He sighed quietly and turned back towards Hot Pie who was shaking his head slightly at Pod’s reaction.

Before either of them could speak they heard one of the boys in the circle around the blond say, “She’s out of reach even for you, Joff.”

The blond scoffed, “No one’s out of reach for me.”

“Want to put money on that?” the other boy replied. 

“Money I’ve got. This I’ll do for fun.” Joff sneered.

Pod huffed in disgust and it was Hot Pie’s turn to sigh. Slinging an arm around Pod’s shoulders he turned them away from the other boys, “That, my friend, is Joffrey Lannister. Richest asshole at KLP, don’t mess with him. Rumor has it he once had a kid expelled for taking the last energy drink out of the vending machine right before he got there. He’s a model too.”

“Wait, he’s a model?” Pod laughed. 

“Mostly regional stuff, but word on campus is he’s got a big tube sock ad coming up.”

“Really?” both boys snickered before Pod looked back towards Sansa who had paused with her friend at the edge of the courtyard, “Man, look at her. Is she always so-”

“Vapid?” Hot Pie commented.

“How can you say that! She’s-”

“Totally conceited,” Hot Pie deadpanned.

“No! There’s more to her than you think. Just look at her. There’s something in her eyes. She’s totally pure. You’re missing what’s there!” Pod exclaimed quietly, aware that his voice could carry through the crowd if he wasn’t careful. He wanted to woo Sansa, not have her start off thinking he was a creep.

“No Pod,” Hot Pie sighed, “What’s there is a haughty little princess wearing a strategic sundress that makes guys like us realize we can never touch her. And guys like Joffrey realize they want to. Put her in your spank bank and move on, man.”

“No, no. You’re wrong about her. Well,” he paused for a moment, “maybe not about the last bit but the rest, you’re wrong.”

“Oh I’m wrong?” Pie smirked slightly, “You know, she’s actually looking for a Volanti tutor.”

“That’s perfect!”

“You speak Volanti?” Hot Pie questioned, looking surprised that Pod had jumped on his suggestion so quickly.

“Uh, no. But I will!” Surely it couldn’t be that hard. They could learn it together if he could just stay a lesson or two ahead. He’d just moved here, no one needed to know he’d taken two, broken up, years of Braavosi. The root language was the same, he could fake it, right?


End file.
